#Japan #Tokyo #SoftBank #Sceye #HAPS

Revolutionizing Connectivity from the Stratosphere

In a groundbreaking initiative, Sceye, a U.S.-based aerospace firm, has partnered with Japan's SoftBank Corp. to successfully demonstrate stratospheric connectivity. This demonstration marks a pivotal step toward commercializing High-Altitude Platform Systems (HAPS), which aim to revolutionize telecommunications and environmental monitoring.

On August 9, 2026, Sceye launched its Service Test 1 (ST1) mission from New Mexico, covering over 15,000 kilometers across the Pacific Ocean in just 13 days to reach Japan. This mission showcased the ability to provide broadband mobile connectivity directly from the stratosphere, utilizing SoftBank's core network and highlighting the capabilities of edge computing and drone communication.

Mikkel Vestergaard Frandsen, the founder and CEO of Sceye, expressed that this flight is a breakthrough for both Sceye and the potential of HAPS. He noted that the successful completion of the journey from the United States to Japan proves the feasibility of utilizing the stratosphere as a layer of infrastructure to enhance AI development, edge computing, and 6G telecommunications.

The stratosphere offers operational conditions that are remarkably advantageous, being close enough to Earth to facilitate high-bandwidth connectivity and observation while being elevated enough to cover vast areas. Unlike traditional satellite systems, Sceye's HAPS platforms operate at a height approximately 1800 times closer to Earth, making them substantially more cost-effective while maintaining efficient operational capabilities.

Since 2025, SoftBank has been investing in Sceye’s stratospheric infrastructure as a scalable addition to terrestrial towers and satellite constellations. This strategic partnership aims to develop HAPS and non-terrestrial networks that expand connectivity range, support disaster communications, and enable fresh applications in areas like AI, IoT, and emergency response systems.

The ST1 mission also introduced SceyeCELL, a unique solution referred to as a “base station in the sky,” designed to provide mobile broadband connectivity to standard devices from the stratosphere. Following full-scale deployment, a single HAPS system could cover an area equivalent to about 500 traditional ground-based stations. During the ST1 mission, the partnership demonstrated mobile broadband connectivity involving text messaging, voice calls, internet access, and video streaming, while also testing emergency alert connections for large-scale disaster situations.

Key parameters of the ST1 mission included:

• - Completing a journey of over 15,000 km to Japan within 13 days.
• - Operating for over 7 days within Japanese airspace.
• - Maintaining a stable position with a positional keeping radius of just 5 km.
• - Flying at an altitude of approximately 16.5 km during telecommunications tests, drone communication, and emergency communication.
• - Confirming connectivity quality comparable to terrestrial networks while minimizing radio interference with ground stations.
• - Installing a server on HAPS for direct data processing on the platform.

The collaboration yielded an impressive average round-trip response time of 68 ms, improving latency by over 40% compared to traditional cloud processing. This mission represents the first successful worldwide test where a mobile core network and a web server have been installed on HAPS, enabling full onboard response processing and transmission back to smartphones.

As of the announcement, the ST1 remains airborne, returning across the Pacific toward the United States. Junichi Miyakawa, President and CEO of SoftBank Corp., stated that the objective is to create a next-generation communication infrastructure connecting the surface of the Earth, the sky, and outer space. The successful provision of test services from the stratosphere highlights a significant move toward the commercialization of HAPS, which is at the core of this vision.

The ST1 mission is an extension of Sceye's Endurance Program, which earlier this year saw the SE2 HAPS platform travel more than 10,000 km from New Mexico to the Brazilian coast, demonstrating long-term operational capabilities before launching the Service Test program.

Sceye, established in 2014, aims to further stratospheric technology to connect people and protect the planet, leading the way in the HAPS sector with a focus on universal connectivity, climate monitoring, resource management, and disaster prevention.